Where does “capitalism” come from?
Capitalism comes from French capitalisme, formed with the French suffix -isme (from Latin -isma, from Latin -alis) and a root from Proto-Indo-European kauput-.
capitalism (English): A socio-economic system based on private...
Definitions
- A socio-economic system based on private...
Ancestry of “capitalism”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | capitalisme | capitalism |
| 2 | French | capital | capital |
| 3 | Latin | capitālis | — |
| 4 | Latin | caput | head; headlike protuberance on an organ or body... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | kaput | head |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | káput | head |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kap- | to seize, hold |
Words derived from “capitalism”